Selene's Web (Quest)
Selene's Web is the first part to the fourth main quest of . Following the reclamation of the second piece of the Staff of Chaos, the Eternal Champion finds themself doing a favor for Queen Ulandra of Eldenroot: the Champion must steal a gem—the "Heart of Selene"—from a dungeon named Selene's Web in order to learn the location of the legendary Elden Grove. Background Journal The Ruler of Eldenroot has sent you to get a gem called the Heart of Selene, and has marked your map of Valenwood with the location of Selene's Web... Story The first part to the fourth main quest of Arena. Following the successful reclamation of the second piece of the Staff of Chaos, and the Eternal Champion's triumph over Shalidor's Labyrinthian, Ria has divined the location to the third piece of the Staff of Chaos: the birthplace of the sacred First Tree, the Elden Grove. The Champion must do a favor for Queen Ulandra of Eldenroot, Valenwood, and steal the Heart to Selene, a high priestess to the "Spider God," and thus exchange information as to the whereabouts of the Elden Grove. Objectives *Receive Ria Silmane's dream bridge. *Receive Jagar Tharn's dream bridge. **Survive Tharn's ambush. *Travel to the city-state of Eldenroot, in Valenwood. *Enter the palace, and receive the task from Queen Ulandra. *Steal Selene's Heart. *Return to Ulandra to learn of the Elden Grove's location. Walkthrough The Dream Bridges After conquering Shalidor's Labyrinthian, the Champion is encouraged to sleep at an inn and receive the next dream bridge from Ria Silmane. The closest location to the Labyrinthian is Stonehills, north of the Labyrinthian. When sleeping, Ria will explain her divination of the location of the third piece of the Staff of Chaos: The Champion should find somewhere less-safer to sleep than an inn, for Tharn awaits: Again, it's also possible to for Tharn to stall for much later. When Tharn's ambush has been defeated, the Champion should remember Ria's task: searching for the Elven Elden Grove. There are only three provinces in Tamriel that hold the Elven people: Morrowind, home of the Dark Elves, Valenwood, home to the Wood Elves, and the Summerset Isles, home to the High Elves. The Champion should travel to one of these provinces and ask around for the Elden Grove, though there is a simpler method: simple analysis of each province's populated locations. Doing so will reveal a similarly named city-state to that of the Elden Grove in the center of Valenwood: "Eldenroot," about 2,200 Km from Stonehills in Skyrim. Traveling there, the Champion should interrogate the civilians about the Elden Grove. Doing so will reveal that the . The Champion should make their way to the palace at the north-eastern end of the city, conveniently to the left of the entrance gates, and have audience with Queen Ulandra of Eldenroot. Queen Ulandra Upon seeking audience with Queen Ulandra, she will speak to the Champion about Selene, a high priestess to a "Spider God," and her threats to destroy Eldenroot: "You ask us for the location of the Elden Grove, birthplace of the sacred First Tree. Such knowledge has a price. Over the past year we have seen our beautiful Valenwood change. Parts have become unsafe for travelers, others have turned dark and sinister, leeching the very earthblood from the soil. Alerion, greatest of our Loremasters, found bodies of our people sucked dry of all fluid. They lay wasted, living dead that had no memories of their former existence. Sadly, they had to be destroyed. Ten of our rangers left to search through the Valenwood forests hoping for a clue to this mystery. Two months later their severed heads were delivered to us by an emissary of someone who calls herself Selene, High Priestess of Shagrath, the God of Spiders. She delivered to us an ultimatum. Surrender Valenwood or die! We are not a fighting people, and have no standing army. We prefer to dwell here amongst the the trees and mother earth, rejoicing in the commune of the land. We cannot stand against Selene and her spider warriors. I fear an end to my people and our way of life. You seem to be a strong and formidable adventurer. I implore you, put an end to her threat against us. I will inscribe on your map the location her embassy referred to as 'Selene's Web', sight of our supposed surrender. Somewhere in those dark corridors lies the one thing that can safeguard us from her greed. Somewhere in her fortress lies her 'heart'. It is said to be a great jewel into which she has infused her lifeforce. If you bring us the jewel, she would dare not attack us with her life in the balance. If you are successful, we will share with you the sacred knowledge of the Elden Grove. Will you help us?" The Champion should accept her request, to which she'll be delighted: "You are truly a compassionate soul. Know this, Selene's Web lies near the city of Eldenroot. I pray, be careful, she is a powerful sorceress who consorts with the undead. I wish thee luck on thy quest..." Queen Ulandra inscribes the location of Selene's Web onto your map... The Champion should leave Ulandra's audience chamber, and start preparing for their next raid. Preparation Selene's Web is not much different than Fang Lair in comparison, for the dungeon is relatively unremarkable. The only true detriment is having to find multiple keys to achieve the objective: finding the Heart of Selene. It should be noted however, that Selene's Web does introduce a powerful enemy into the normal mix: the Wraith. Wraiths have extremely high-powered Fireball attacks which, when unexpected, will decimate even well-leveled characters. These Fireballs have an extreme range, so while likely that the Wraiths will kill themselves instead of the Champion, it isn't always the case. With the regular upgrading and buying of armor, weapons and magic utensils, the Champion should invest some Gold into buying Potions of Fire Resist, along with stockpiling some Gold to invest into buying the upgraded Potions of Healing, the Potions of Heal True. Mages will find it worthwhile to invest into buying better spells, and are encouraged to express creativity in creating new spells, as Arena's spell-crafting system is easily exploitable. Once ready, the Champion should head out to Selene's Web, home to the High Priestess of the Spider God. Mating Dens – First Floor The closest civilized area is the city-state of Eldenroot, about a days journey from Selene's Web. The Village of Archen Cormount is two-days away, and the nearest town is Wasten Brukbrook, four days away. Selene's Web is 80 Km southeast of Eldenroot, and in terms of size is comparable to the Fortress of Ice. The dungeon is relatively unremarkable—except for the mass amounts of Spiders that live there, due to Selene's breeding grounds, but multiple Minotaurs, Wolves and other creatures inhabit as well. The first floor consists of a lock-and-key puzzle. The Champion must go to the flooded arena at the center of the first floor, defeat the spiders that inhabit there, and claim the key to the second floor. Once the Champion enters the arena, a "roleplaying message" will appear on the screen: "Before you lies a small arena, surrounded by water. Something glitters on the stones of one island." The Champion should be wary, as if they jump off the platform where the key is, the farthest right one from the entrance, four Minotaurs will spawn: one behind the Champion, two in front, and one on a diagonally-distant platform. Once the key has been acquired, the Champions should proceed west, until they find a blue marking on their map: the door to the second floor. The door itself is much out of place with the rest of the Web, a black metal door, that has a golden lock to it. Using the key, access to the second floor is granted, and the Champion should continue. The Champion could also use the Passwall spell to destroy the wall to the side of the door, or break it open with their weapon. Selene's Heart – Second Floor The entrance to the second floor is less-friendlier than the first, filled with the sound of Minotaurs. The second floor is split into four quadrants, similar to that of a four-quadrant graph, split in the middle with a chamber. These quadrants—with the exception of the fourth quadrant—are immensely confusing—all having winding tunnels, burrows, and a multitude of rooms. The Heart of Selene is in the center of the quadrants, in a small central chamber, which is locked with a diamond-studded lock. This chamber can be opened with a spell, such as Passwall or a spell to open locks, but otherwise the Diamond Key must be found to open the door. The Eternal Champion starts out in the first quadrant, the upper-left one. They should jump into the burrow to the right of the entrance, and proceed to the central hallway, near where the central chamber is. The Champion should follow a hallway past the chamber, which leads to the fourth quadrant, the lower-right-most one. When approached, a "roleplaying message" appears: "DANGER! "TRAINING AREA!" This hallway leads to the training rooms, where the Champion will be put through multiple gauntlets of Spiders to see if they can reach the Diamond Key, to claim Selene's Heart. Following the hallway and subsequent rooms will lead to a south-most chamber, which holds the Diamond Key, which is guarded by Barbarians and Wraiths. The Champion should drink a Potion of Fire Resist, as the Wraiths might instantaneously kill them. Entering the south-most room, two Barbarians will appear. After killing them, and approaching the right-most-side of the central-structure in the room, a "roleplaying message" will prompt: "There is little dust here, and the footprints that exist are those of humanoids running toward this wall and jumping..." The Champion should lunge into the structure, and claim the key. Be wary, though. As soon as this message appears, two Wraith will appear in-front of the structure. After obtaining the Key, open the central chamber's door, and claim the Heart of Selene. Once the Champion has hold of it, they will monologue, reminding themself of the significance of winning the Heart: "You have found the Jewel, the so-called 'Heart of Selene' that will protect the people of Eldenroot. You have only to bring it to the ruler there..." The Champion should make a hasty departure, and return the valuable to Queen Ulandra. Ulandra's Gratitude Once Selene's Heart is delivered to Ulandra, she will be overjoyed and relieved: "I and my people owe a debt we cannot begin to pay, (Player's name). You have given us a new hope, and for that we are eternally grateful. Come and stand before me..." Queen Ulandra gently unrolls an ancient scroll, then takes a light feather pen and inscribes the location of the Elden Grove, somewhere in the Valenwood province, onto your map... The Champion should take their leave, and start preparing themselves for the ancient home of the First Tree, the Elden Grove. Bugs * If Ulandra's request is denied and she's spoken to again, the game will crash with "divide error," as the game attempts to divide by zero.